Spurs edge past West Ham United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
By Haran Naresh

Tottenham Hotspur secured their passage to the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a hard-fought quarter-final victory over rivals West Ham United.

Steven Bergwijn gave Spurs the lead before West Ham responded with a goal from Jarrod Bowen.

Tottenham restored their lead soon after through Lucas Moura and this would end up being the winning goal.

With seven minutes gone, Tottenham won the ball back high up the pitch and Steven Bergwijn attempted a shot which took a deflection and went behind.

Lucas Moura played an excellent through ball to Harry Kane who directed a shot from a narrow angle which Alphonse Areola pushed away.

Jarrod Bowen troubled the Tottenham goal in the 15th minute when he hit a firm free-kick which forced Hugo Lloris to punch clear.

Arthur Masuaku found Nikola Vlasic in the area and the forward turned before having his shot blocked by Davinson Sanchez.

With 20 minutes on the clock Sergio Reguilon stood up a cross for Matt Doherty and his weak header was easily collected by Areola.

At this point neither side had been able to create a sustained period of pressure.

The home team took the lead in the 29th minute with a well-worked move. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg played a pass into Bergwijn before receiving the ball back and finding the forward, who poked in onthe stretch.

West Ham went up the other end and almost equalised immediately. Tomas Soucek beat Sanchez in the air and directed a header that appeared to be going towards the far corner but Lloris did brilliantly to save at full stretch.

Lloris then denied Soucek a minute later when the midfielder directed a header on goal from Bowen’s cross. From the resulting corner Craig Dawson headed narrowly wide.

West Ham’s outstanding response paid dividends as they equalised in the 32nd minute.

Spurs gave the ball away and Vlasic had a shot deflected into the path of Bowen, who sent Dier the wrong way with a shimmy before coolly slotting into the corner.

The game had been sparked into life and Tottenham restored their lead in the 34th minute. Bergwijn drove into the box and sent a pass across goal for Lucas Moura to scuff the ball in.

Five minutes into the second half, Oliver Skipp had a shot which hit Bergwijn and went behind.

In the 56th minute Masuaku picked out Bowen with a cross but Ben Davies got in the way of the header.

The visitors had an excellent opportunity when Bowen was sent through on goal with a pass over the top but Lloris quickly came off his line to push the ball away.

West Ham substitute Said Benrahma wasted a decent chance with 69 minutes gone when he swivelled in the box and fired off target.

The home team spurned an excellent opportunity when substitute Heung-min Son only had Areola to beat but took a heavy touch which let Masuaku get back and allowed Areola to collect.

Spurs were sitting back and inviting pressure at this stage.

With 79 minutes on the clock Benrahma had an attempt which was easily saved by Lloris. Benrahma then hit a half volley narrowly wide.

West Ham almost took the game to penalties at the death when Andriy Yarmolenko’s effort was deflected off Japhet Tanganga and looked like it would nestle into the corner but Lloris scrambled to make the save.

Tottenham rode their luck at times in the second half but they defended resolutely and ultimately did just enough to secure the win.

Spurs have been drawn against London rivals Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. The first leg will take place at Stamford Bridge on the week of 3rd January and the second leg will be at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the following week.

Spurs now turn their attention back to the Premier League as they host Crystal Palace on Boxing Day.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte, speaking in his post-match press conference, said: “The performance was good. I liked the way we moved the ball and we attacked the goal with many players.

“Many players that played today had Covid and at one point of the game the intensity dropped. For this reason I made substitutions.”

On if he believes the semi-final should be one leg due to fixture congestion and his thoughts on being drawn against Chelsea, Conte said: “If I have to decide, maybe it would be to play one game and not two games especially for the situation we are living in but we have to respect the rules.

“It will be nice to play against Chelsea. I spent two amazing seasons with Chelsea and enjoyed it a lot but now I’m the manager of Tottenham and I am ready to give everything for this club.”

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